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Brief and Theme 2015

Introduction

Our children’s wellbeing is what matters the most. We want them to develop into strong individuals with a life full of opportunities. Our homes should be safe and nurturing environments for our kids as they grow up and the parents should enjoy the confidence in being good mothers and fathers. Nurturing and caring for children as well as giving them guidance, are the cornerstones of human evolution, and the future.

Theme title

In 2015, Electrolux Design Lab is seeking for innovative concepts for future households under the theme of Healthy Happy Kids

Design challenge

How can we in the future ensure that our homes are supportive environments for children to live in and grow in, in a way that enables and encourages them to become healthy, engaged and happy individuals?

Prizes: This year there is double the reason to participate as all of the cash prizes for the competition are twice the amount as in previous years.

First prize: € 10 000 and 6 months paid internship at Electrolux

Second prize: € 6 000

Third prize: € 4 000

People’s Choice: € 2 000

How to approach the theme

Your submission will be evaluated according to creativity and design, but also on a variety of trending factors. When thinking about the needs consumers have in the future for products, services, accessories and consumables in either cooking, fabric care or air purification, consider also the following important aspects:

Remember your target consumer: Think carefully about your target consumer and take a deep dive into their world. Is your target group the entire family, babies, toddlers, school kids, teenagers, or even more specifically the mothers or fathers of the family? What does it take to grow a healthy and happy child in a family and in future societies? Become inspired by real life examples and think, what is the relevant observation and consumer insight that your concept is based on? We are interested in hearing about the challenges that you find and observe and the opportunities you discover in them.

Create with connectivity – Consumers are open for using new and emerging connected technologies to monitor, understand, control and improve their activities, actions and their living environments to ensure their children spend time in a home that supports their health. Think, how can new technologies and solutions be used to improve the consumer experience; how can they be used to resolve unmet needs especially when it comes to service and maintenance, control, customization and usability.

How to choose your focus area

Healthy Happy Kids is the overarching theme and within that theme we ask you to choose one of the following focus areas; cooking, fabric care or air purification. You may come up with your own angle, but we are especially interested in the following aspects:

Cooking: Time spent in the kitchen is an increasingly important focus for families as cooking and baking with children is seen as a bonding activity. Parental concern about their children’s’ future is fuelling an emphasis on developing good habits and the kitchen is a good place start. Kids also want to be engaged in the home activities through real experiences, but what would be the best way to involve children in cooking? How can we make children open up to exploring food, healthy eating habits?

Fabric Care: The laundry processes in a family can seem tedious and require quite a lot of work. At the same time we all, even the little ones, have our precious garments that are especially important to us and we wish to take good care of them. Specialized laundry programs already exist for sensitive garments, but how can we involve the new favorite garments of the children in the family to the hectic and complex laundry process and how can we make sure that everybody in the family receives the correct treatment for the garments they care for the most?

Air Purification: Consumers are looking for new ways and ideas to protect their families and minimize the risks they expose their kids to. They try to ensure their life styles are healthy and that products and services they use on a day to day basis are safe and do not include harmful substances. With kids, this is a special concern especially when it comes to the indoor air that we breathe. Look into the daily routines of children, e.g. sleeping, and think, what solutions can contribute to a healthier indoor air quality?

Submission requirements

The competition is conducted in four stages: first submission (100+ contestants chosen), second development work (70+ contestants), third development work (35 semi-finalists) and the final event presentation (6 finalists). The contestants are filtered between stages by the Electrolux experts and public voting.

First submission requirements: Submit a description of an idea, a visual sketch illustrating the idea and a description of the consumer benefits.

The best entries are placed online in the beginning of May allowing them instant global recognition. Electrolux experts will evaluate the concepts and give feedback. We accept entries from all design students (and 2014 graduates), not only industrial design students.

How the submissions are evaluated

The Electrolux experts will focus on the following key criteria when looking at your design:

Does the concept answer the brief?

Does it encompass intuitive design?

Is it innovative?

Has it been based on consumer insight?

Is the concept aesthetically pleasing?

Additionally, and in keeping with the heritage of brand design values of Electrolux, the concept should reflect Scandinavian design values by being sensitive to the environment, meaningful and relevant, whilst providing intuitive ease of use.

Electrolux Brand Design Values

To understand more about Electrolux design, learn also about the six key values Electrolux product experiences are measured against:

Intuitive – Products that visually communicate how and where you can control them. Responsive, and addressing your changing needs. Easy to use and understand.

Simplicity – Uncluttered, clear and visually clean, without unnecessary ornamentation. Clarity of purpose built on an emphatic understanding or users’ essential needs.

Purity – Using materials, texture, light, color and sound in friendly and innovative ways. Performing as they should whilst expressing an understated and refined elegance.

Reassuring – Expressing a sense of comfort, safety, familiarity and security, making you feel confident and empowered. Products that are friendly and easy to relate to.

Humanizing – Using technology that is designed with your needs in mind, not intimidating. Technology that adds value to living, not technology for technology’s sake. Products that you want to touch and use and which invite interaction.

Freedom – Giving a sense of freedom in performing tasks the way you want to. Products that are flexible, allowing use in a variety of ways.